Preview: 2011 electric Smart fortwo

New York City: In 1882, Thomas A. Edison founded the first central power plant in the United States. By 1910, half of the cars running around New York City were electric-powered. But the fate of the electric car was sealed by Cadillac’s invention of the electric starter for its internal-combustion-engine cars and electric cars soon fell by the wayside. Now, 100 years later, the electric car is making its comeback as automakers jump back on the electric car bandwagon. Among them is Mercedes-Benz, which has announced plans to build 1,500 electric Smart fortwos. The second phase of a public trial will see 45 of these cars running on Canadian roads in the fourth quarter of this year.

Why a Smart electric car and why now? The answer put forth by Pitt Moos, product manager for Smart electric drive, is that it was always the first intention of Nicolas Hayek, the founder of the Smart car venture, to produce an electric or a hybrid car. His vision did not at first materialize because the technology was not ready and there was no market for an electric car at the start of the project. This, he says, explains why the Smart cars were produced solely with internal-combustion engines. However, now that the technology is available and consumers are ready to consider an electric vehicle, it is time to move ahead.

The electric Smart fortwo will not be sold outright in Canada but rather leased over a four-year period to corporations, which will account for 80% of the clientele, as well as individuals, which will comprise 20% of the lessees. No pricing information has been revealed for the lease of the electric Smart fortwo in Canada, but the plan for the U.S., which gets 250 cars, is already in place. It involves a US$2,500 downpayment and a US$599 monthly lease payment for 48 months. These figures take into account the US$7,500 grant awarded to buyers of electric cars by the U.S. federal government as well as other incentives provided by various state governments. Each Smart fortwo electric car will have a four-year warranty.

So much for the economics; what’s it like to drive? The electric Smart fortwo drives like a heavier and slower Smart fortwo because it is heavier — by 308 pounds — and slower, given the output of its electric motor is only 41 horsepower compared with the 70 hp of the conventional Smart car.

However, the torque of the electric Smart fortwo is rated at 88.5 pound-feet, which is 20 lb-ft higher than that of the conventional Smart.

From a standstill, the electric Smart fortwo gets off the line rather briskly, but it can only manage a zero-to-60-kilometres-an-hour time of 6.5 seconds. Top speed is limited at 100 km/h.

The range of the electric Smart is 135 km on a full charge, which represents roughly four to five hours of operation at typical city speeds, according to Moos. Charging times will vary depending upon the power source, but it is estimated the battery can be charged from a 20% to an 80% level in three and a half hours. That’s when it is plugged into a 220-volt outlet — which is similar to the outlet used by a typical home electric clothes dryer — and charged from a 0% to 100% level in eight hours.

The basic concept put forth by Smart for its EV is “drive by day, charge by night” — the driving pattern of most commuters. It does take a while to get used to driving an electric vehicle and the so-called “range anxiety” is definitely a factor for first-time users who tend to fixate on the readout of the gauge indicating the battery’s state of charge. During the initial trial of the electric Smart fortwo in the UK, which is still ongoing, 87% of the users said they were anxious about range at the start of the program.

That number has dropped to 17% after two years of use. A new iPhone application has been created so users can monitor the charging status, the time remaining to a full charge and the estimated available range.

Driven around the streets of Brooklyn, the electric Smart fortwo was perfectly at ease. I never felt that more power was needed as the car was able to match the flow of traffic without a problem. However, the real thrill of driving the electric Smart fortwo does not come from its performance but rather with the feeling that you are getting away with something. That’s because, for now, at least, electric power is much cheaper than gasoline. Add to that the fact that the car is very quiet, even at speed, and completely silent at a standstill and you get a very positive feeling behind the wheel.